Sir Terry
Leahy, CEO, Tesco Plc For Sir Terry, Tesco’s core purpose is ‘to
deliver value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty’. There is
no mention of products, no reference to the bottom line or market
share, but a clear focus on people - the customers.

The Brunei government is now in the aviation manufacturing business. This May, the country’s foreign investment arm, the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) bought full stake in ownership of US-based Piper Aircraft from American Capital Limited.

Piper manufactures seven types of aircraft, including single engine and jet-powered airplanes. It is one of the company leaders in a sector whose competitors include Cessna and Beech Aircraft.

But little was mentioned about Brunei Darussalam’s purchase of the 72-year-old general aviation company in coverage of the sale, and for good reason. The buyer of the company was actually Imprimis, an investment management firm with offices in Bangkok, Singapore and Brunei.

The deal was brokered through a subsidiary of Imprimis funded with $226 million in capital from the Brunei Ministry of Finance. While details on the sales price were not disclosed, Piper was reported to be $57million in debt when acquired by American Capital in 2003, according to the Brunei Times.

Since establishing the BIA in 1983, Brunei has increasingly grown and diversified its foreign investment portfolio with assets generated by the sultanate’s oil wealth. This February, BIA subsidiary Nudhar Corporation paid $12.1 million for a 19 percent stake in Australian

finance firm Patersons Securities, reported daily newspaper The West Australian. The sultanate also has a 37 percent interest in Jordan Phosphate Mines, and stakes in several other companies as part of a $70 million joint investment venture with the government of Pakistan.